Toyota Teases i-Tril Electric City Car, With A Tilt

Toyota research into ever better and more engaging environmentally-friendly mobility solutions

Toyota has announced a new zero-emission concept that will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The Toyota i-TRIL Concept was developed by the company’s European division – Toyota Motor Europe (TME) – in collaboration with the company’s ED² design studio in Nice.

It features three seats (1+2) and is powered by electric motor (but there are no details whether power comes from battery or fuel cells, but we suspect it’s the former). More on that below.

What’s exciting is that autonomous driving is included in this new concept.

“Another Toyota highlight in Geneva will be the world premiere of the i-TRIL Concept. Developed by Toyota Motor Europe (TME) in collaboration with the company’s ED² design studio in Nice, this electric motor powered concept showcases numerous innovative aspects of Toyota’s research into ever better and more engaging environmentally-friendly mobility solutions.

Featuring a one-plus-two seating layout, Active Lean technology and capable of operating autonomously the i-TRIL Concept represents a viable alternative to A and B segment cars, other EV products, and motorcycles for those who still wish to have fun whilst driving even at slow speeds in the urban environment.”

We’ll have to wait until Geneva to know for sure, but the i-TRIL teaser sure looks like this is an updated, larger version of the i-Road, Toyota’s last quirky EV with Active Lean technology. That scooter-like EV could seat two (1+1, tadpole style). The battery power in the i-Road is what makes us think that the i-TRIL will also have batteries. Plus, even with the advances in shrinking the fuel cell stack and fuel tank, the i-TRIL concept looks a bit to small to encompass all of that plus three people. We will see soon enough, once the Geneva Show starts.

3 or 4 wheeler – that is THE question. With a 1+2 seating layout, implying that the two passengers sit in the back next to each other, the i-Road solution becomes more difficult if you want the i-TRIL to be narrow enough to be able to lean during cornering. It will probably be something like the inventor of new-isetta has in mind. Or it will be a 4 wheeler.

Toyota (TMC) has been pumping useless-EV pr for a very long time. This news item is one of those (the writer got pr copy from TMC).

The writer points out the very reasons one would not want this vehicle even if it were not Electric. But TMC continues to push the useless i-Road nEV (an EV that can not drive on U.S. highways), or this concept.

Anyone who has done their homework when considering an EV purchase or lease, knows there are many family sized EVs with highway speed capability and ~100 mile range can be had for a song/cheap (i.e.: used Leaf EVs), or 200+ mile EVs in the ~30k range that come with level-3 quick or overnight level-2 charging.

So, TMC EV pr pieces like this one are a waste of everyone’s time (just what TMC wants, to continue to sell polluting gas-vehicles/ aka ice). TMC’s efforts to push their fcv agenda is also a huge failure. fcvs are only good for fossil fuel companies and automakers.

You have to understand what TMC’s profit-first war against EVs is about. Take a look at,http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18065372
Using the above, TMC is analogous to wanting the U.S. to continue buying their poisonous ice that they profit from the preparing/building, selling and servicing of. When we all know we can do very nicely, and have a good life, by never having come close to a poisonous blowfish (fugu), nor throw away our hard earned money at buying something that has a good chance of killing us.